Endeavour launches construction of Lafigué Project
Abidjan – Endeavour Mining has announced that it launched the construction of its 80%-owned Lafigué Project on the Fetekro property in Côte d’Ivoire, following completion of a robust Definitive Feasibility Study (“DFS”).
Sebastien de Montessus, President and CEO said: “We are very pleased to launch the construction of Lafigué as it will become another cornerstone mine for Endeavour while continuing to enhance our geographic diversification. Lafigué is expected to improve the quality of our portfolio, given its attractive production profile of approximately 200,000 ounces per year at an industry-low AISC of $871 per ounce over its initial 12.8-year mine life, with robust project economics. Moreover, we are excited by its exploration potential as we have confirmed mineralisation at several targets in close proximity to the Lafigué deposit.
We are ideally positioned to launch the construction of Lafigué, given our net cash position, the continued strong performance of our operations, and our success in de-risking the Sabadola-Massawa Expansion with a significant portion of the capital already committed on-budget. Moreover, we are seeing reduced inflationary pressures and favourable foreign exchange rates compared to earlier in the year.
In line with our capital allocation framework, we are committed to delivering strong shareholder returns in the form of dividends and share buybacks while we continue to invest in our business by pursuing the most attractive growth opportunities.”
Patrick Bouisset, Executive Vice President Exploration and Growth said: “The Lafigué discovery is a great example of how we can create significant value. For a modest exploration investment of $31 million, which represents a discovery cost of $12/oz, we have added a new cornerstone asset to our portfolio. To continue to source our projects organically, we have increased our greenfield exploration efforts, which, over recent months, have resulted in significant success at our Tanda-Iguela property in Côte d’Ivoire, where we expect to publish a maiden resource later this year.”
DEFINITIVE FEASIBILITY STUDY HIGHLIGHTS
Based on the DFS recommendation, an upsized 4Mtpa carbon-in-leach (“CIL”) plant capacity has been selected to process the ore from the Lafigué deposit, which will be an open pit mine. the DFS demonstrates Lafigué’s ability to deliver an average of 203koz of gold per year at low all-in sustaining costs (“AISC”) of $871/oz over the life of mine, as mine plan optimisation efforts prioritised a stable, long mine life, rather than peak upfront production. Over the coming years, Endeavour will continue its exploration efforts with the goal of continuing to extend the mine life and increase annual production.
